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St. LouiS AmericAn The
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
CAC Audited JANUARY 16 – 22, 2020
Vol. 91 No. 43 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘We are not deterred’ Black female reform prosecutors come to St. Louis to defend Kimberly Gardner State’s Attorney of Baltimore Marilyn Mosby speaks at a rally in defense of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner at the Carnahan Courthouse on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American When State’s Attorney of Baltimore Marilyn Mosby came into office in 2015, she immediately tried to use her power to address wrongful convictions and implement other criminal justice reforms. She was met with more than just criticism of her agenda or her competency, she said. Her home and family were also attacked. “They protested outside my house, published my children’s pictures online, including my address,” Mosby said. “When it comes to the types of attacks against black women, the type of venom is very personal.” Mosby was among six African-American women reform prosecutors from around the country who gathered at a panel discussion at Harris-Stowe See GARDNER, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
How to close the Workhouse Campaign unveils new plan, aldermen submit resolution By Sophie Hurwitz For the St. Louis American On Tuesday, January 14, the organizers of the Close the Workhouse campaign held a press conference showcasing their new report “Close the Workhouse: A Plan and a Vision.” This report showcases the dramatic drop in St. Louis city jail populations over the past year and proposes a two-year path to closing the workhouse and re-allocating the money that keeps it operating to social services programs. Dozens of advocates and politicians gathered at City Hall to announce Photo by both the release of the Chuck Ramsay report and a resolution Callion submitted to the Board of Barnes Aldermen by Aldermen Cara Spencer, Dan Guenther, and Jesse Todd. If passed, it would re-appropriate the $16 million that the city spends on upkeep of the jail, to go into effect in fiscal year 2021. According to the coalition, if there were 10 fewer people in the St. Louis city carceral system than there are now, every single incarcerated person could be housed in the St. Louis City Justice Center downtown. There are currently 660 people incarcerated at the City Justice Center, See WORKHOUSE, A6
Who was consulted in the decision to steal this name? Photo by Wiley Price
Mourning Jim Buford Richard Banks, Michael McMillan of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Maxine Clark of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, and Marc Morial of the National Urban League mourned longtime Urban League leader James H. Buford at his memorial at St. Alphonsus “Rock” Liguori Church on Saturday, January 11.
OBS celebrates 40th anniversary with Jan. 25 gala ‘40 years is a mighty long time for an organization like this to be around’ By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American On January 25, the Organization for Black Struggle will celebrate its 40th anniversary. The group, which rose to national prominence during the Ferguson uprising, was founded in 1980 by a group of students, veteran activists, and union organizers, among others, who believed that the needs of the black working class in St. Louis were not being adequately addressed. They came together shortly after the FBI’s counterintelligence program, known as COINTELPRO, had effectively decimated the leadership of black radical organizations across the country, undermining their programs and assassinating their leaders. See OBS, A10
The late Al Lumpkins and Jamala Rogers were elected to serve as chairperson and cochairperson, respectively, in the early days of the Organization for Black Struggle.
Ville resident who was born in Homer G. Phillips enraged at developer By Julia Allen For The St. Louis American On August 19, 1979, I woke up at my home across the street from Homer G. Phillips Hospital to helicopters flying overhead. To my surprise, the St. Louis Police Department had surrounded n Who was the hospital. The consulted in streets of The Ville the decision neighborhood were barricaded for four to steal this name and use blocks in every direction. Physicians, it for a 3-bed nurses and other hospital on Homer G. employees the Pruitt-Igoe like myself were not able to work that day. site? It felt like the city had enacted martial law just to get 50 patients out of Homer G. and transferred to City Hospital. As I stared out my window in shock, I heard a knock at my door. A news reporter had scurried over to ask if he could use our telephone to call in his report on the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital. I am a lifetime resident of The Ville neighborhood. I have lived, played, studied, See HOMER G, A7